Dear Carla, I am writing to you about this question, which was posed a few evenings ago on the TV show "L'Eredità”: which, of Gemini, Scorpio and Libra, should be considered a feminine sign. It seemed obvious to me that this referred to Libra, the answer that the contestant actually gave. The negative response, according to which Scorpio is the feminine sign, puzzled me and so I am putting the question to you. Can you clarify the matter for me?Thank you. Gabry.
If I had been the contestant, my impulse would have been to answer in the same way and I would have been dismayed at being eliminated. But then, thinking it over, I remembered that classical Astrology used to divide the signs into masculine and feminine, based on their order:the odd numbers, such as Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius and Aquarius, corresponded to masculine signs, while the even numbers, like Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces, were regarded as feminine. So the answer can be regarded as strictly correct but, these days, this division of the signs is fortunately a thing of the past: I would say that labelling Scorpio and Capricorn as feminine signs is irrational, since Mars, the symbolism of which includes the penis, can only leave the stamp of its masculinity on the signs in which it is respectively in domicile or in exaltation. Similarly, it is equally inappropriate to regard Libra, the domicile of Venus, as a masculine sign.
Modern Astrology classifies the signs as being three kinds: Masculine, Feminine and Neutral, reflecting the nature of the ruling planets.
The Masculine signs: Aries, Leo, Scorpio and Capricorn, in which Sun and Mars rule, represent the predominance of manly characters, whose values, which drive the human being to seek individual and professional affirmation, are energy, aggression and driving force.
The Feminine signs:Taurus, Cancer, Libra and Pisces, in which the Moon and Venus dominate, symbolise values like sentimentalism, emotionality, imagination, the love for peace, harmony and the pleasure that comes from comfort and the presence of loved ones.
The Neutral signs:Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Aquarius, in which Mercury and Uranus prevail, are representatives of values that we can describe as universal because they are part of human nature, such as the love of freedom, the need to socialise and communicate, an inclination for mobility, as well as the need for routine, classification and bureaucracy.
translated by Nick Skidmore